Day of German Unity

Today, Germans all around the world celebrate the 21st year of "German's Unity"!

For more than 40 years, Germany was divided into East and West Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 marked the beginning of several historic events lead by Germany's reunification and the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Despite November 9 being such the key event in Germany's reunification process, the date was not chosen as national day. Instead, we celebrate October 3rd. That's when the former GDR (German Democratic Republic or East Germany) legally joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Berlin reunited as one city, after it had been divided into four sectors by the Allied Forces in 1945.

Before the reunification, both German states celebrated their own national days.

In the former GDR, we celebrated Ocotber 7th as our national holiday. The "Day of the Republic" commemorated the founding of the GDR in the Soviet-occupied sector of post-war Germany in 1949.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the "Day of german Unity" (without the capital G yet) was June 17. On June 17, 1953 the Eastern German rose up against their government. This Anit-Communist move was supressed by tanks and a Soviet-led state of emergency installed over Eastern Germany until July 11, 1953.

It took another 36 years, until November 1989, and the peaceful revolution to reunite Germany and trigger the fall of the Iron Curtain.